Scientists supported in part by the NASA Astrobiology Program have provided new details of how the Hooggeneoeg Formation in South Africa was formed. The Hooggeneoeg Formation is found in the […]
Archean
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Case for a Hot Archean Climate and its Implications to the History of the Biosphere
The oxygen isotope record in sedimentary chert and the compelling case for a near constant isotopic oxygen composition of seawater over geologic time support thermophilic surface temperatures prevailing in the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones
Nitrogen Isotopic Composition and Density of the Archean Atmosphere
Understanding the atmosphere’s composition during the Archean eon is a fundamental issue to unravel ancient environmental conditions. We show from the analysis of nitrogen and argon isotopes in fluid inclusions […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Unique Chemistry Reveals Eruption of Ancient Materials
An international team of researchers, including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, geochemist James Day, has found new evidence that material contained in oceanic lava flows originated in Earth’s […]